Saturday, May 1, 2010

50 Best State GOP Electoral Successes - Alaska

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Today continues a new recurring series which can be subtitled "The 50 Best GOP from the U.S. 50, over the last 50 years." Following in predetermined alpha order, this installment gives a little "Northern Exposure" to the 49th and geographically largest state of Alaska. Though only the second state honor to be presented, the choice may wind up being the toughest to make. While political junkies may argue that former long-time Senator Ted Stevens should be the obvious choice for his over 40 years of "public service", AZDB is going rogue by instead giving the honor to former Governor Sarah Palin (R- You Betcha!). In keeping with the original criteria of the "50 Best" theme, Sarah Heath Palin won in tougher in electoral climates, against tougher competition, helped improve the state's Republican prospects for future elections, and did more to solidify the GOP brand in the state than any other elected Republican in Alaska.

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Though a strong case could be made for selecting Stevens, former U.S. House Rep and six-term Senator voted Alaskan of the Century in 2000, he loses out on our "50 Best" for several reasons. For one, although he won all six of his regular terms from 1972-2002 with over 66%, his competition in each race was lackluster at best. No serious DemocRAT challengers ran against him in a general election until 2008, when Anchorage Mayor Bark Begich defeated him by under 4,000 votes. (I'm sure now in hindsight Alaska voters would like to take a mulligan on that one.) Also, the one other time he had a notable opponent, he lost a race for Senator to Mike Gravel (D - Outer Space). Sarah Palin, in winning the governorship during a horrible year for the GOP nationally in 2006, in contrast defeated both incumbent Governor and former 4-term Senator Frank Murkowski (R - Alaska Machine) in the GOP primary and former two-term governor Tony Knowles (D - Paint Drying) in the general election, an amazing political two-fer. Chris Matthews could see the "Old Boys Club" crumbling from his summer house, as she became both the youngest (42) and the only female to win the governorship in the young state's history.

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Secondly, while his electoral history is quite impressive, Stevens attained victories as a small-state influential Senator that could "bring home the bacon." The list of pork projects and federal dollars brought back to Alaska is way too long to detail, and using this influence is hardly what future GOP candidates, even in Alaska, should emulate - on both policy grounds and to clearly distinguish themselves in races vs DemocRATS. Sarah Palin, while hardly a perfect conservative regarding federal dollars being brought back to Alaska - mainly due to the inherent nature of the state - has built her profile, both in The Last Frontier and nationally as a fiscal hawk on steroids. She won both her GOP primary and general election for governor by running as a new type of candidate: one that was not part of the "Corrupt Bastards Club," and one that would return money to its citizens rather than tax and spend the state into oblivion. Fueled by rebating state oil revenues back to Alaskans by the thousands, Palin said what she meant and meant what she had said to the tune of an 83% approval rating in Nov 2007 - more than a month after she cancelled the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere," whose funding was brought by none other than Ted Stevens. (In fairness, the $442M price tag for the project was not returned to the feds, but instead spent on other transportation projects in Alaska.)

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Third, choosing Stevens in place of Sarah Palin, whose electoral career has not been nearly as long and iconic as the other Senate lion named Ted, would mean substituting his octogenarian picture in place of this one:

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Trump...Freaking...Card..

Though one can definitely make the case that Ted Stevens should get the honor for his accomplishments and decades of service (which goes back longer than Sarah Palin has even been alive!), from a pure electoral standpoint, and by giving future state Republicans (including her former Alaska running mate and current Governor Sean Parnell) a successful road map to keeping the offices in GOP hands, The Barracuda deserves the nod for the best GOP politician over the last 50 years the state of Alaska has been honored with.

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Honorable Mention: Former U.S. Rep and Senator Ted Stevens; former Gov. and U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski

Also, Palin only won her 2006 gubernatorial election with less than 50 percent of the vote in the General. Hardly a landslide by any means. She was in the right place at the right time.

May 2, 2010 1:01 AM

Please read the criteria for how the "50 Best" are determined. It's not about their "legacy" in the states & what they accomplished while in office. Stevens has an airport named for him because he brought the $$ to the state. he's Alaska's version of Robert "Sheets" Byrd, who has about 1000 things in West Va. named after him.

Brawhahaha....you guys are a joke. You know that Sarah Palin is a viable candidate and you just can't bring you twisted self to admit it. Let's really be "realistic"...you need to go back to the playground you came from and grow up...maybe you might have a decent argument by then.

Martha - Keep telling yourself she's "viable". Say it enough times and it may come true.

She quit her governorship, she comes off like a bumbling idiot in her interviews and if I hear her talk about "The Real America" one more time, I will hunt her down myself and finish her off like she would, a moose.

And by the way, I'm not a liberal. I just know a bad candidate when I see one.

Yep...she's a viable candidate. Nope...won't just mention "The Real America" interview, won't even mention her record selling book, outstanding book tour, he jammed packed appearances, but all you can do is stick to the "quitter" meme...come on...give some real facts, then i'll give you the time of day. In the meantime, go back to your pajama underground and start to concoct a better story than what you have.

I have several thesaurus' and dictionaries, etc....if you don't like what you read here...why do you troll around? I don't agree with Obama's policies, I don't troll around on his site. I don't agree with Huckabee's or Romney's policies, but i don't troll around their sites either. This really says a lot about you "sweetie". Take you vile back to where it belongs. If your not happy with yourself, go find someone or something that will make you happy. Living a bitter and vile life has never done anyone any good. If your politician is in the White House, then celebrate, if he/she is not, work for the candidate that you want there and quit wasting time coming onto other sites and behaving like a whiny kid. Move on!! Life is good, whether you believe it or not.

I also mentioned Huckabee and Romney...no epic fail here dear. If your not happy what is being written on this site, then simply chose a candidate, whether Republican or Democrat and support them. But this midnight hour bashing makes you look bad. What do you care what's being written about Sarah Palin anyways? Are you so enamored with her that you just can't stop coming to her sites or blogs? Gee Whiz. Really, use your energy more productively by finding the right candidate for you and supporting them. You'd do the country much more service by doing that.

Martha - Well, I'm actually doing a very important service for Republicans. I'm using points and logic (I number them too!) to show why she would be a complete disaster for our party. Obviously I'm not the only one who thinks so!

Romney and Huckabee are way better candidates than this scary women. Please keep her away from the nuclear codes!

Points and logic...how about real facts. And as for Romney and Huckabee, why aren't you out supporting them instead of wasting time on someone who is a "complete disaster" to our party?? Hmmmmm.. kind of makes one wonder. Alas...I won't wonder too much about it as there is much better things in life. Hope you don't drown in your own vile...really...there is a better life out there. Be happy and live.

Good Night...at least I hope you have a good night. Foaming at the mouth isn't always good.

Oh yeah...those are really facts...oh yeah...for sure. Living the American Dream is ok for everyone else but Palin...oh yeah...real good arguments...Parading her kids around...oh yeah....and if she leaves them at home...that's bad too...oh yeah....great points there...great points...lol. If you don't think she's presidential candidate material. Then mosey on down to where you can find a better one. Why are you wasting your time here on someone who "ain't" (no such word" it?? Good night!!

Martha, sweetie pie. I'm still waiting for some points. I spend time bashing Palin because she is getting way too much attention and I'm sick of all this worshiping of her, including this silly post. There is no way she's the biggest success story in Alaska GOP politics. The sooner we stop drooling over this charlatan, the better of we'll be.

The point is: she capitalizes on her down syndrome kid. It became one of her talking points on the campaign trail and she parades him around for sympathy. It's shameless, really. And you should be ashamed of yourself for giving her a free pass like that.

Gator Girl - Wow, that's low. Going after her kid? Try walking a mile in her shoes. She's bringing national attention to kids with special needs, she's a great voice for conservatism, and this is what you repay her with? I seriously don't believe you're a conservative.

She's a horrible voice for conservatism, Conservative Republican. I don't consider someone who speaks in long meandering sentences and uses words like "bullcrap" in political speeches to be a good communicator. Ronald Reagan would be insulted that this clown is being compared to him.